PURPOSE: This study was to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction with volunteer work in a population of health care center volunteers. Ultimately, the results from this study would help to find ways to keep volunteers continuing their work. METHODS: The participants of this study were 179 volunteers who were affiliated with three health care centers located in Gyeonggi-do. Descriptive statistics and multi-stage regression were conducted to analyze data. RESULTS: Self-esteem was significantly associated with the satisfaction with volunteer activity. In addition, the relationship with clients rather than volunteers' general characteristics was also significantly related to the satisfaction with volunteer work. CONCLUSION: Therefore, it is necessary to increase a volunteer's self-esteem so that the volunteer can keep continuing his or her volunteering activities. Also, in order to promote good relationships between the volunteers and the clients, it will be important to teach communication skills to volunteers.
Delivery of Health Care ; Public Health

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether appreciative inquiry (AI) is an effective intervention for increasing the positive psychological capital and organizational commitment of new nurses.METHOD: The study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 60 new nurses in a tertiary hospital in Seoul. The experimental group received 2 classes of AI education and in-unit AI activities. The control group received the existing education program.RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the positive psychological capital and organizational commitment between the experimental group and the control group over time. Satisfaction with the AI education scored 3.69, which was higher than the average. The reason why the experimental group members were satisfied with the program was that AI education helped them to adapt and the in-unit AI activities made staff more cooperative and the atmosphere of the unit more positive.CONCLUSION: When applying AI activities to new nurses to promote positive psychological capital and organizational commitment, it is necessary to provide a workshop in which the participants can fully concentrate on education and to extend the period of use to one year in order to maintain the effect of AI activities.
Atmosphere ; Education ; Methods ; Seoul ; Tertiary Care Centers

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze the trend of theory application in articles published in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration (JKANA) over the last 10 years. METHODS: Four hundred and eighty-five articles were reviewed to determine the scope of theory-applied research. General characteristics, study design and keywords classification by nursing meta-paradigm were analyzed using established analysis framework. RESULTS: Twenty-four articles (4.9%) were identified as theory-applied research publications. More than half of the articles (54.2%) stated that a theoretical framework was used; the number of theories used in the 24 articles was 27 including nine nursing theories. The majority of the studies were conducted in hospital settings. In the keyword classification by nursing meta-paradigm, 28 environment-related keywords were identified but only 7 keywords were related to health. CONCLUSION: The results show that theory application in Korean nursing administration research is very limited. It is necessary to create a positive educational environment for graduate students to learn about nursing theories as well as theories from other disciplines. In addition, different levels of nursing theories should be continuously developed in the field of nursing administration.
Classification ; Humans ; Nursing Administration Research ; Nursing Research ; Nursing Theory ; Nursing

Purpose: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nerve system, resulting in cumulative loss of motor function. Multiple sclerosis is induced through multiple mechanisms and is caused by inflammation and demyelination. This study aims to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of swimming exercise in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) rats, an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Methods: EAE was induced by an intradermal injection of 50-μg purified myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 33–55 (MOG33-55) dissolved in 200-μL saline at the base of the tail. The rats in the swimming exercise group were made to swim for 30 minutes once pert a day for 26 consecutive days, starting 5 days after induction of EAE. To compare the effect of swimming exercise with interferon-β, a drug for multiple sclerosis, interferon-β was injected intraperitoneally into rats of the EAE-induced and interferon-β-treated group during the exercise period. Results: Injection of MOG33-55 caused weight loss, decreased clinical disability score, and increased level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators in the lumbar spinal cord. Loss of motor function and weakness increased demyelination score. Swimming exercise suppressed demyelination and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators. These changes promoted recovery of EAE symptoms such as body weight loss, motor dysfunction, and weakness. Swimming exercise caused the same level of improvement as interferon-β treatment. Conclusions The results of this experiment suggest the possibility of swimming exercise in urological diseases that are difficult to treat. Swimming exercises can be considered for relief of symptom in incurable multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Breast milk is the best available food for optimum growth and development of infants and the breastfeeding rate is increasing in Korea. The purpose of this study is to measure the concentrations of macronutrients and to evaluate their changes according to lactation period in breast milk from lactating Korean women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Milk samples were obtained from 2,632 healthy lactating women (mean age; 32.0 +/- 3.3 years), where the lactating period was up to a period of 8 months, who also volunteered to participate in the Human Milk Macronutrient Analysis Research. Lactose, protein, fat and water content in the breast milk samples were analyzed with infrared spectrometry using MilkoScan FT-2. RESULTS: The mean macronutrient composition per 100 mL of mature breast milk was 7.1 g for lactose, 1.4 g for protein and 3.0 g for fat, and energy content was 61.1 kcal. The protein concentration was significantly lower in milk samples at 1-2 weeks (2.0 g/dL) to 2-3 months (1.4 g/dL) than those at 0-1 week (2.2 g/dL), but it was similar among samples from 3-4 months to 7-8 months (1.3 g/dL). Mean lipid levels varied among different lactational period groups (2.7-3.2 g/dL), but presented no significant difference. Lactose concentration in the milk samples did not differ with lactation period. Maternal body mass index was positively related to protein and lipid breast milk contents, but was negatively related to lactose content. General linear models examining the associations between maternal variables and milk macronutrient content revealed that lactation period had a major impact on protein and lipid, but not on lactose content in breast milk. CONCLUSIONS: These results warrant future studies to explore factors that may be associated with changes in macronutrient content in human milk.
Body Mass Index ; Breast Feeding ; Female ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; Infant* ; Korea ; Lactation ; Lactose ; Linear Models ; Milk ; Milk, Human* ; Mothers* ; Spectrum Analysis ; Water